1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, and a complex machine of the foregoing.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus 100 as shown in FIG. 11 is conventionally configured so as to cool a heat source, such as the fixing device provided in the interior of an apparatus main body 101, by introducing outside air inside through fine clearances leading to the interior of the apparatus main body 101 and blowing the introduced outside air to the fixing device or the like by an unillustrated fan (air blower). Examples of the fine clearances referred to herein include but not limited to a clearance 103 between the apparatus main body 101 and a front cover 102, a clearance 107 between the apparatus main body 101 and sheet feeding cassettes 104, 105, and 106, clearances 108 and 108 between the sheet feeding cassettes 104 and 105 and between the sheet feeding cassettes 105 and 106, and a clearance 110 between the sheet feeding cassette 104 and the front cover 102.
In the prior art as above, however, the clearances 103, 107, 108 and 110 serving as air intake channels to introduce outside air to the interior of the apparatus main body 101 are too narrow to secure sufficiently large sectional areas of the air intake channels. It is therefore difficult to achieve the cooling effect efficiently by the fan.
Such being the case, there have been developed techniques to provide a louver to the side face of the image forming apparatus for introducing outside air inside (JP-A-2003-76253) and to provide a louver to the front cover of the image forming apparatus for introducing outside air inside (JP-A-2000-3082).
The air intake louver, however, is provided at a position where it is readily visually recognized by the user in the image forming apparatus in these patent documents, which deteriorates the outward appearance. Hence, there has been a need from the market to enhance the quality in outward appearance by providing the air intake louver to a position where it is hardly visually recognized by the user.
In addition, the image forming apparatus disclosed in JP-A-2003-76253 supra is configured in such a manner that the air intake louver opens in the side face. This image forming apparatus therefore has a problem that it cannot be installed with the side face provided with the louver situated next to a wall or an external large volume sheet feeding deck.